I was going to text this to Ash but it was too long:

When I’m in Florida I hang out with all these funny elder ladies in the pool and play these card games that last 3 hours. It’s pretty great. The games are simple and they’re super happy when they play. I get to hear things like ‘I didn’t get enough schooling when I was a kid because the school kept getting bombed out (she’s German)’. My grandmother doesn’t play cards because she’s super anxious about doing things that need her to make decisions now that her short term memory is almost complete gone but we convinced her to play Bunco the last night I was there.

So that night I get introduced as Judy’s granddaughter and one lady shot up out of her seat, left the table and then came back a minute later with pictures of her grandchildren. She showed me one picture of a multiracial granddaughter (I appear black, my grandmother appears white), ignoring the white grandchildren and it was apparent that this girl was the love of her life. ‘She’s a model’. And to her, showing me this picture was meant to make me happy. ‘Her mother is white, her father is black’. I had no idea what to say besides ‘wow, nice’ so I asked her about the other pictures because she was waiting for me to say something else. She quickly rattled off their names. Then she showed her fave grandchild’s picture around the table and let them know she specifically brought that picture to me because I was another multiracial granddaughter. It was pretty cute.

Looking up ‘how to deal with senility’ in preparation for spending 4 days alone with a senile loved one, traveling with her, going to a wedding with her, and moving her into a nursing home. All while she can’t remember anything that happens more than a minute beforehand and gets easily upset by her predicament. It’s almost like my father all over again. Meanwhile, Rod’s trial refuses to end so the matriarch is tied up and can’t do anything but put this stuff on me. I’m happy to help and also not. August used to be fun. If you happen to have advice please send it my way.

I’m spending so much more time in the sun this summer than I have in the past decade and I’m still getting used to the whole ‘shittons of white people getting sunburned’ thing. It happens so easily! Why are you all getting red when you’ve got SPF 100 on? We’ve seriously only been outside for like an hour. How have white people survived this long in the world?? Can I touch it? Does it hurt? It’s like my version of people asking if they can feel my hair. Sorry white people, it’s just so curious!

I was ill for some time, and I’m always lazy, but I think I’m back to it.